1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sample analyzer that analyzes samples using consumables such as reagents, and a storage medium for controlling a computer to display information of remaining amounts of consumables.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sample analyzers that automatically analyze samples such as blood, urine, and the like by using reagents have been known to date (for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-315344, and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H5-164760). With such sample analyzers, unless a user discerns a shortage of a reagent before sample analyses are suspended due to depletion of the reagent, sample analyses cannot be effectively performed because sample analyses are suspended every time a reagent runs out.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-315344 discloses an analyzer that displays, by means of characters, a remaining amount of a reagent mounted in the apparatus and an estimated usage amount of the reagent calculated based on past analytical information. Specifically, an estimated number of analyses to be performed is calculated for each day of the week based on information of a past period, and an excess or shortage is estimated based on the remaining amount of the reagent mounted in the apparatus and on the calculated estimated number of analyses. Thus, the remaining amount of the reagent, the estimated number of analyses, and the estimated number of excesses or shortages are displayed on a screen in the form of character information.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H5-164760 discloses an automatic analyzer that determines the number of samples to be measured for each measurement item based on an inputted measurement order, and calculates a necessary amount of a reagent, based on a usage amount of the reagent per measurement, which has been provided in advance, and on the number of samples to be measured. Moreover, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H5-164760 describes displaying vertically-extending bar graphs indicating the number of samples to be measured, a necessary amount of a reagent, a remaining amount of the reagent in a bottle, a shortage amount of the reagent, respectively.
However, in the analyzer disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-315344, the remaining amount of a reagent, the estimated number of analyses, and the number of excesses and shortages are displayed only by characters. Therefore, it is difficult for the user to intuitively discern the necessary refill amount of the reagent. Moreover, the automatic analyzer disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H5-164760 calculates only an amount of a reagent necessary for processing a measurement order received at the current time. Therefore, the automatic analyzer cannot present to the user an amount of the reagent necessary for sample measurements to be performed, for example, for one day.